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Dua Lipa has denied a “deliberately inflammatory” MailOnline report claiming that she fired one of her live agents after he attempted to prevent Kneecap from performing at Glastonbury.
Her agency, William Morris Endeavour, called the story “categorically false” and clarified that the agent, David Levy, stopped working with the British-Albanian pop star in 2019.
Levy was an alleged signatory of a leaked letter urging Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis to drop the pro-Palestine Irish rap trio Kneecap from the bill for this year’s festival.
In a statement posted to Instagram on Tuesday, Lipa wrote: “I do not condone the actions of David Levy or other music executives toward an artist speaking their truth. I also cannot ignore how this has been handled in the press. Not only was the story completely false but the language used by the Daily Mail has been deliberately inflammatory, crafted purely for clickbait, clearly designed to fuel online division.
“It is always Free Palestine but exploiting a global tragedy in order to sell newspapers is something I find deeply troubling.”
In its own statement, William Morris Endeavour said: “Reports suggesting that Dua Lipa or her management dismissed one of our agents because of his political views are categorically false.
“David Levy played a role in Dua’s early career (2016-2019) and as is customary, is credited both internally and in industry journals as being a member of the team. When he moved out of London in 2019, he transitioned into an advisory role and has not been involved in Dua’s day-to-day business since. Levy fully removed himself from the project among others earlier this year.”
The letter, whose existence was initially publicised by DJ Toddla T, came after Kneecap’s Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a flag in support of the proscribed organisation Hezbollah at a 2024 gig.
Ó hAnnaidh has denied the allegations and said that the flag was thrown on stage and he picked it up without seeing what it was. His next court hearing is set for 26 September, during which a chief magistrate is expected to decide whether he will stand trial.
Lipa is one of the few pop stars of her calibre to speak openly about the conflict in Gaza. She has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and in May posted on Instagram: “Burning children alive can never be justified. The whole world is mobilising to stop the Israeli genocide. Please show your solidarity with Gaza.” She has also joined calls for the UK to stop selling arms to Israel.
